Dundee Utd 2
Celtic 4
League (SPL)

Match Report

Things began well for the home side when a dangerous Robson corner came off Celtic striker Chris Sutton for a third minute lead.

Collin Samuel, restored to the team in place of the injured David Fernandez, then saw a low drive drift wide before United were drawn back level in sixteen minutes.

John Hartson, also returning to his side, was left in plenty space inside the area and his right foot drive found the net despite Derek Stillie getting a hand to the ball.

Shaun Maloney had a long range effort turned round by Stillie before the visitors took the lead in somewhat fortuitous fashion in the twenty-seventh minute.

Maloney again hit a speculative effort from outside the area however this time a deflection off the heel of United captain Paul Ritchie guided the ball beyond Stillie and into the net.

The Tangerines stormed straight back into it however and proceeded to score the goal of the game two minutes later. After some neat build-up play, Mark Wilson strode forward before playing in a reverse ball to find Samuel in the box. The Trinidadian then turned Balde before drilling in a right foot shot which beat Boruc in the away goal.

This was a game which you couldn’t take your eyes off for a second and Celtic turned the game again when they restored their lead just after the half hour mark. A Maloney corner was deflected into the net off Alan Archibald, with Balde lurking nearby in the six yard area.

Stillie had to be alert to prevent Hartson latching onto a Celitc through ball as half time approached, while half hearted penalty claims were brushed aside as Sutton went down under a Ritchie challenge.

United very nearly equalised for a second time when Samuel swivelled to send in an acrobatic right foot effort that just missed the top left corner. Jim McIntyre then had a left foot drive beaten away for a corner as the home side pushed forward, intent on levelling the game. As the final quarter approached, Hartson met a Nakamura free kick with his head however Stillie was equal to the challenge as he made a comfortable block.

As the clock ran down, United pressed forward in search of an equaliser however in doing so they were always vulnerable to the counter attack. This was exactly the way in which the game was killed off as, with three minutes remaining, Stephen Pearson slid in a low cross from the right from close range.